Why is NutSedge soooo Hard to Control?

Sedge

If you’ve ever noticed that Sedge grass appears to multiple the more it is pulled up, you understand my frustration:  weeding it out of the garden area is nearly impossible!

Sedge has an extensive rhizome system that creates bulbous structures at the ends. When pulled, the bulbous structure often remains underground, and when isolated from the above ground leafy structures, that bulbous structure begins sending out even more rhizomes to create even more bulbs and above ground foliage.

The pictures (above) illustrate the location of the bulbous structure. On the left, the foliage that is pushing through soil to go above ground (#1) is about 10 inches from the bulbous structure (#2). The thin underground stem between the foliage and the bulbous structure is succulent, thin, and quite easily broken when plants are pulled during weeding. This particular set of plants set up shop in the upper layer of partially composted mulch — so it was somewhat easy to extract the set of structures without breaking the stem.

The close-up  (pictured above right) illustrates just how aggressively prepared those bulbous structures are to propagate and take over any garden space. Notice the thin stems –easily broken when pulled–that link this structure to above ground plant parts.

If mechanical weeding is the desired method, use a spade to carefully dig out the underground structures of sedge. If chemical control is desired, check with your local garden center or county extension agent for an appropriate chemical — with a little advice for using it in your garden or yard.